Walking with Sue these days requires an adjustment that may necessitate milady walking on the curbside. On one recent stroll in order to avoid having her walk on the outside, we deliberately chose a counter clockwise route, so that she could speak to my good ear.
If you don't already know that I have quite a hearing loss, I am, hereby, informing you that I am only about 50%. With hearing aids, I get by although discriminating some words can occasionally be problematic. I always choose to turn on the captions when I am watching tv. I started with the British programs and now employ captioning ubiquitously.
Unfortunately, I have run into an additional problem. To wit: my left ear feels plugged, and the volume that I am getting is greatly diminished with or without the hearing aid. I had the hearing aid checked and was told that it is in good working order. Then, I went to the doctor to check for fluid. I had fluid on my right ear earlier this year, and it took me three weeks of treatment for the ear to drain.
But no! they say that it isn't fluid buildup this time around. The doc feels that it has to do with allergies. I am to use a nasal spray daily and take an antihistamine tablet, but that hasn't worked yet. She feels that I may have to continue to follow the protocol until the first frost.
Oh good grief! The first frost is still three weeks off, and that is if the average holds.
The extra kicker is that is has usually been my left ear that is my better ear, but now I would say that it is working at, perhaps, 25% efficiency or less as I rely on my weaker right ear.
As you might imagine, there has been a lot of repeating of whatever is being said. It is aggravating for all parties but perhaps more so for the speaker. What I discovered a long time ago is that people are used to speaking at a certain level. Even when someone knows that I have a hearing problem, and I have just asked for something to be repeated, their very next communication will frequently revert to their lifelong normal. It's just natural.
I try not to have Sue repeat everything. Sometimes, I make a judgement about whether or not something sounds important for me to hear, and I may choose to just let the sentence slide away into the ether.
As soon as I leave you, I will apply the nasal spray and take my antihistamine and hope, likely against hope. My wish is that I don't have to wait for three weeks or more until the first frost for relief. And what if it that doesn't solve the issue? What then?
I have the opposite problem as you. After years of religiously protecting my hearing through wearing ear muffs or ear plugs whenever around loud noise, I find that I am more sensitive to sound than most of my peers. I wear ear plugs to concerts because I find them so loud. As a result, when I'm watching movies on television, if I have the volume turned down to a comfortable level, the range in sounds are so dynamic, I have a hard time hearing the really softly spoken dialog so I too use subtitles. It doesn't seem to bother me watching everyday television though, only movies.
ReplyDeleteWe all live our own silly little lives. 😇
DeleteI hear you on this one. I have hearing issues too, especially in one ear, and I know that plugged feeling-- I was plugged for months (literally, even when they finally put in an ear tube.) I hate saying "What?!" all the time. Ambient noise -- the car, especially, is worse. I'm sorry you have to deal with this too.
ReplyDeleteIt is frustrating. Sorry that you are companion in this.
DeleteWhat a bummer! I smiled that you still wish to be a gentleman and walk on the curbside with your wife! Our senses connect us to the world, and my dry eyes when I wake up daily are my woe right now...fearing that I might not be able to see well during this lifetime. Hearing is another sense which we depend upon so much...maybe not so much for safety as in wild animals, but definitely for connection with others of our kind!
ReplyDeleteYes, dry eyes too. 😔
DeleteEye drops help, one drop per eye once or twice a day.
DeleteThat must be terribly frustrating for everyone. John has a slight hearing problem and that causes enough issues in our frustration level. I can’t imagine having what you have on a good day diminished even more. I hope it gets resolved for you soon.
ReplyDeleteIt's awkward. I am about to head out to a noisy restaurant and try to hear what my friends are saying.
DeleteI have noticed that I have lost some of the hearing in my right ear. If there is any sort of background noise, forget it. I have hearing aids, but they make everything too loud, even if they supposedly cancel background noise. It is surprisingly isolating.
ReplyDeleteHow irritating! I sure hope this doesn't go on for 3 weeks, does your head feel weird? Like a head cold?
ReplyDeletePretty much my situation, though my right ear is the stronger one. I'm adept at maneuvering myself into position. No hearing aids so far--I rely on a bit of lip-reading and (as you say) some strategic guesses about the importance of any communication.
ReplyDeleteI am waiting for frost too to help with runny eyes, nose, and frog in the throat feeling. Getting old sucks!
ReplyDeleteI would ASSUME the clinician looked carefully in your ear…. but just in case….. a sudden decline in hearing can often be due to excess buildup of ear wax. I have this occur routinely as I seem to prolifically produce ear wax. And it can build up (in part due to my TMJ), and block hearing…. and sometimes be uncomfortable as well. If the clinician did not check thoroughly though…. that may be a root cause this time. If you want to try, you can use a warm water lavage with a small amount of hydrogen peroxide in the warm water….. and flush your ear canal with an ear bulb. You usually need to have 4-5 squirts with the ear bulb’s fluid before it may dislodge the ear wax. When this happens to me it is an immediate cure and hearing is fully restored and the nefarious ear wax plug drains out into the sink.
ReplyDeleteMight be worth considering if you think it may apply to you.
Ear wax is not my issue. It would probably be better if it were.
DeleteI can relate. My wife is hard-of-hearing but her technology helps. I've also experienced temporarily plugged ear/s. I assume you know about the "Valsalva Maneuver"? This strategy has helped me many times (especially when I use air travel).
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry to read this about your hearing. I know this is very frustrating. Sending you some healing energy.
ReplyDeleteMy hubby had hearing issues. He had gotten hearing aids and wondered at how nice they were. When we got home he put them away and never wore them again.
ReplyDeleteI ended up making sure I was facing him when speaking to him. He didn't always understand me, I am soft spoken except when yelling... :-O
I hope you don't have to wait 3 weeks to see if you can hear better.
For me, losing hearing would be awful if I couldn't hear birdsong.
I have a 20% hearing loss in my left ear and 10% hearing loss in my right ear. It is so frustrating to have to ask people to repeat themselves all the time. Hopefully you don't have to wait 3 weeks for it to get better.
ReplyDeleteI have very good hearing. I have always been very sensitive to loud noises and for this reason I hate concerts, parades, sporting events and any gathering where there will be a lot of noise.
ReplyDeleteI wish you all the best, dear friend.
I also have a hearing difficulty. It's really a disability. I really find it a challenge in noise.
ReplyDeleteWhat a pain. It's a real nuisance not being able to hear properly what people are saying. I hope the spray and tablets eventually help.
ReplyDeleteAllergies can cause hearing loss? I have never heard of that, but I suppose it could be possible. I have allergies and take antihistamines all year and double them up in pollen season. They give me tinnitus, but I am used to that now and am able to ignore it. Perhaps you could walk around with chalk and small chalkboard on a cord around your neck? Just kidding. I hope the antihistamines and spray help you.
ReplyDeleteHope this all helps the situation.
ReplyDeleteNoticing that the hearing up here, is not what it used to be, especially on one side. Having to have things repeated is frustrating, sometimes I let it slide as well, if it doesn't seem that important, and sometimes I hear things that are hilarious....and wrong!
It’s like they are blocked. Hopefully, it will eventually drain.
DeleteYes, that is the situation at our house. I try to articulate better, rather than raising my voice. Some days, though.
ReplyDeleteI have a hearing problem too. How you describe it, that's me and I'm just about ready to admit to myself that I need hearing aids. I have a terrible time listening to people on the phone or on FaceTime. It's getting to the point where my husband has started translating for me :) If he is in the other room, forget it. Ho hum!
ReplyDeleteThat would be SO frustrating. I had ear problems a couple falls back and was going nuts over the situation.
ReplyDelete